Pretending to Fly
by Cherry chain
Summary: Schwann is sent on a mission to the City of Dahngrest by Alexei. But the Knight soon learns that the city's shadows are deep, and its politics a deadly game. He will have to choose between his duty to Alexei and his belief of what is right. Pregame.
1. Prologue

AN: I have actually worked on this fic for more than two years, but I keep on scratching and rewriting it. It's hard to get across what I intended, as the genre of this story isn't my strong point. I'm hoping to finally getting around to finishing it. I'm going to shorten it significantly, and I think that will help.

This is a story about Schwann and when he went to Dahngrest and became Raven. The entire outline for this story had been written two summers ago, so I do not take into account the canon of the First Strike Movie and the story of Damuron. Or any extras from Vesperia PS3.

This happens about 3 years after the Great War. The Prologue is actually quite far along into the story already, and is told from an OC's point of view. The rest of the story will be told from Schwann's.

* * *

Lynnette stared up above her, trying to gauge the time. Such a thing has always been difficult in the city of Dahngrest, as a thick layer of purplish aer blanketed the area, smothering it in a hazy mist of perpetual twilight. The usage of Blastia was not regulated here, and misuse of the artifacts was what caused such a high amount of aer to be present, much of it trapped by the Barrier Blastia around the town. Having lived here her entire life though, she was able to pick out the small speck that was the sun from glowing orbs of aer that floated freely about.

It was still early in the morning, before many of the citizens had stirred awake to face a new day. On the other hand other more unpleasant residents on this city were withdrawing back into the shadows to rest and hide from the revealing light. Too many shadows and too many shadow-lurkers were present these days.

It was early, and she knew that he would be passing her soon enough.

"Stay with me." The woman whispered, tightening her grip on the hands of a small boy by her side. He nodded grimly, locks of his bright blonde hair falling into his eyes. He brushed them out of his bright blue eyes with annoyance, shooting trained glances all around the street, especially into the dark corners. Ignorant people, even children, didn't live long in the City that was Dahngrest.

His mother walked forward with a determined step. She held herself proudly, a plain quarterstaff in her other hand used as a walking stick. Her dark brown hair was tightly held up in a ponytail, framing her gently sloped face. Dark brown orbs were fixed deep in thought, eyebrows knitted together with cautious worry.

The streets were dangerous to be out on by yourself, especially for a woman and her child. She was determined to come out here today though, to see him safe and whole and take him back home. She has spent much too little time with him recently.

She flinched as a shadow near them enlarged and burst into a humanoid shape, and Lynn pulled Harry in protectively at her side before she realized who it was. The man made no threatening gestures, standing calmly a few feet from them, a slight scowl on his face. He crossed his arms, a generally accepted pose of peace, his hands away from the hilt of the sword at his belt.

"Mark." Lynnette breathed, relaxing and stepping forward, where the man spread his arms to pull her into a hug. He sighed, the scowl melting off his face as Lynn pressed herself against him, and the two shared a quick kiss.

"Lynn. What are you doing here?" He asked, an edge in his voice as he glanced up from her to the boy, who stood just behind his mother, looking up at him expectantly. He freed one arm and the young boy rushed in to join the hug, enjoying the sense of safety offered by the close contact. "And why did you bring Harry?"

She broke off their hug with a wry smile, staring up into his blue orbs, his face an older image of their son's.

"I missed you love. I rarely get to see you these days, so I figured I'd escort you home." She replied, leaning up to peck him on the cheek. She could feel the stubble on his chin, pushing through after a few days of neglect. He had a tired look in his eyes, bags under them from several sleepless nights. His shirt was ruffled and dirty under his leather armour, and she could feel several hidden blades pressed between her and him. The past few weeks had been hard on him.

He urged for the two of them to turn and gestured for them to begin walking and they did. Lynn pulled Harry protectively between herself and Mark as she turned to look at her husband, her smile replaced by a worried glance.

"How did it go?" She asked. He didn't answer, simply shaking his head and Lynnette felt her heart drop in her chest.

"Damn. Is Soul Smiths still being stubborn?" She whispered, though there was no one else on the street to hear them. The man gave a sigh, reflexively dropping his left wrist down to drape over the pommel of his sword. Casual looking, but within a split-second's reach of the blade.

"They're too cowardly ta make a decision." He swore, clenching his right fist up before him in frustration. "I thought that after Grimoire Light declared their support for us they'd finally give in."

Lynn nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, they are rather close...but they don't dare cut ties with Ruin's Gate. That bastard Kennedy is still speaking out against us I suppose?"

"The leader of Ruin's Gate? He's actually been pretty quiet. I think his guild had been pressurin' him ta oppose us, but I talked to him once. He was a decent enough fella."

"Kamf is probably involved in this somehow. There's no reason for us to hit such strong opposition from them. The Blood Alliance must have something on them." Lynnette reasoned, following this line of thought. Kamf, the leader of the infamous mercenary guild that pretty much ruled the city, was well known for underhanded tactics and deals made in the dark.

"Speakin' of Kamf and the Blood Alliance, any news from them while I was gone last night?"

"They sent a reply to our proposal. Contents not all that surprising. They're still deeply against it. Made some threats, demanded that we disband, the usual." She responded, having read the letter personally herself right after it had made its way back to their headquarters through a thoroughly shaken messenger. At least even Kamf wouldn't stoop so low as to hurt the representative of an enemy guild.

"And how did The Don reply to that?" Mark asked, a slight smile touched at the edge of his lips.

"Well, we politely told him to-" Lynnete began, and very handily described exactly _what_ they told Kamf to stuff into _where_ and the both of them burst into howling laughter that quickly died down, tempered by their caution. Both shared the same amused grin though, with a very confused Harry glancing up at them from between them.

"I love you Lynn. I'm sorry I haven't been the best father for Harry recently." he told her, and his smile was sincere. She mirrored it with her own, and nodded.

"I love you too dear. You're doing your best, and that counts for something. It's alright though, Harry's growing to be a big boy isn't he?" She replied, looking down to ruffle her son's hair. He laughed quietly, trying to bat his mother's hand away to no avail.

"Quite the little warrior I've heard too." His father added, beaming. "You'll grow up to be just like your grandfather one day."

Harry beamed at this, straightening slightly in pride. The young boy practically worshipped his grandfather as a hero. And Lynnette couldn't blame the boy. Her father was such a strong leader, an amazing warrior, and a deeply compassionate, kind, man. He was the anchor for many people's lives, the embodiment of their hopes and dreams. He held on to her tight, saved her from drowning in grief the day her mother...

Lynnette's stomach lurched from the memory, one that came back to haunt her often and she quickly pushed it aside as she have trained herself to. Her son and husband didn't notice the brief moment her mind had left them and she quickly rooted herself back into the present.

"We're not that far from home now." She noted, glancing to the familiar shops and builds that lined the streets. One particular inn caught her attention, named 'Arcturus'. "You must be hungry, I don't suppose you ate since lunch yesterday?"

Mark nodded, rubbing his belly with one hand, just noticing his gnawing hunger. He had been so caught up in keeping himself unseen, of trying to talk with the Guildmaster of the Soul Smiths in secret. It had been a stressful night, and he hadn't given much thought to food.

Lynnete grinned.

"Well then, I'll get you a nice big breakfast once we get back. Does that sound good to you?"

Harry certainly agreed, nodding enthusiastically, and his father join in with a quick laugh.

"That sounds wonderful."

Lynnette stretched, a content smile on her face. It was nice to simply spend a little time with their family together again. He seemed to share similar thoughts, relaxing his arm and allowing his hand to slip off the pommel of his sword. The city was waking soon from its slumber, and any moment now up above people will open their windows to let in the new day.

The shadows had not gone yet.

Mark reacted with lightning-quick reflexes the moment he heard the _click_ of the crossbow. He turned and drew his sword, the small Bhodi Blastia hanging around his neck glowing briefly as a shield came up. The bolt smashed into it, entering a few inches before losing all of its momentum and falling to the ground.

Seconds later dark forms burst from the alleys. Lynnette pushed her son behind her, the two keeping the young boy between them as they closed in, back-to-back. She didn't have any time to think- just react. As another dark form closed in on them she held her staff up protectively. The strangers were all in dark blue cloaks, their face hidden in shadows. Two glowing red dots shown out of the darkness, like some demonic form of eyes. She gasped when she realized who they were, even as she desperately batted aside a quick strike aimed for her heart.

"Red Eyes!" She cried, and behind her Mark grunted in acknowledgement. She heard the frantic beat of steel against steel, and the man was being pushed back- there was nowhere for him to go though, for Lynnette was barely holding off the three attackers going at her.

Suddenly the Red Eyes before her jumped back, something zipping by her line of sight. She didn't question it and used the reprieve to fall deep into her magic, calling upon the power of her Bhodi Blastia.

A crossbow bolt came down for her from the ceiling, and she saw it coming. But she didn't dodge, forcing her concentration and her spell to completion just before the bolt slammed into her shoulder. The force of the impact sent her flying backwards into Harry and his father, but Mark kept his balance. The bolt pierced through her leather armour, into flesh and scraping past bone.

"Ivy Rush!" She gasped the trigger words her spell was waiting for, and she felt her Bhodi Blastia releasing all the aer it had gathered from all around her, releasing in a brilliant burst. As Harry helped his mother onto her knees, the three Red Eyes charging at her were suddenly stopped as vines burst up from the ground. The plant mass shot up violently, wrapping themselves around the men and held them tightly in places. They struggled against the bindings, becoming frantic as thorns began to grow out from its surfaces, digging into skin.

She staggered to her feet, clutching at the bolt on her shoulder. Pain pulsed down from her arm with every beat of her heart, blood slowly seeping from the wound to stain her tunic dark. Another crossbow bolt came down at her and she dived aside, pushing Harry along. She broke out of her dive to point up at the roof of the nearby building with her good arm, murmuring a very quick incantation. The magic circle glowed white under her for only a moment before collecting into the energy she needed.

"Photon!" She triggered the spell, and a small explosion of light focused on one of the crossbowman set off, flinging the man and those around him away. One tumbled down the side of the building, but quickly caught himself, jumping from windowsill to windowsill to absorb his momentum before landing safely on the ground in a roll. Her previous spell, the Ivy Rush, was beginning to wear off and the original three attackers were starting to break free.

She struggled to her feet, eyes darting from side to side for help. She caught the shadow of a figure standing in the middle of the street a bit farther down, but whoever it was she could not focus on the man. She hoped that it wasn't another one to fight- they were already so outnumbered and so outmatched she had no hopes of coming out of this alive.

She felt her chest tightening at the thought of dying here. Of everything ending. Her husband and her son too. Her son! She shouldn't have brought him out here today, it had been dangerous, foolish. She brought her staff up with her left hand, determined to fight till the very end even as she felt herself overcome with emotions. Beside her Harry had somehow, amazingly, drawn a dagger, and stood beside his mother, looking terrified but grim.

She heard Mark give a ferocious cry, and the entire street momentarily was lit a bright blue. A circular blast of force originated from behind her, passing through her and her son harmlessly but acted like a solid wall to their attacks. It knocked them back several feet before dispersing, and the surprised Red Eyes took a moment to get their bearings.

"H-how...are you holding up Lynn?" She heard him ask, and a moment later his back made contact with hers. She winced as it jostled her shoulder, but she said nothing about it.

"I've...been better." She gasped, then her eyes widened as one of the Red Eyes suddenly lurched to the side. Her eyes as well as his teammates' followed him as he hit the ground, an arrow protruding from his arm. He struggled to his feet until-

_BOOM_

The arrow exploded, driving the man into the ground and knocking the others off their feet. Lynnette turned towards the source of the arrow to see the man from before again, already knocking a second shot. He was short but held himself straight, a nobility in his stance that felt so out of place here in the City of shadows. He wore simple clothes, a dull red tunic over a shirt of chain mail, a silvery Bhodi Blastia gleaming on his right list.

She knew him. It was Raven.

He pulled the bow up and drew the string quickly, taking aim even as he released. She tried to follow its line of projectory, and couldn't keep up with it. By the time she found its target the man was already falling off the roof to fall towards the ground, his screams cut off with a sickening crack. It was only then that she noticed that no more crossbowmen lined the buildings on either side of the street.

She had never seen him fight before. He had always carried himself with the air of an experienced warrior, but actually seeing him in combat was an entirely other story. Lynnette had never seen anyone so quick, so smooth with a bow. She glanced back at the man, who brushed his long dark hair out of his bright cerulean eyes, assessing the situation.

She felt herself swell with thankfulness for Raven's timely appearance. Maybe they could survive this after all.

There was still nearly half a dozen enemies. Two glanced down the street at the new man, nodded to each other, and charged down to face their new opponent. The rest closed back in on Lynnette and her family again, and she could only keep her attention on Raven for a moment longer, watching as he snapped that peculiar bow of his into a sword, before turning back to her own fight. It still wasn't very good odds, but at least maybe they had a chance now.

"Lynn?" Mark asked behind her.

"Yes?"

"I want you to take Harry and run for it."

"What?" She exclaimed, shaking her head fiercely. "I won't leave you!"

"Goddammit! I'm not asking- just go! You need to get Harry to safety." He growled, and their conversation was abruptly ended as another attacker flew at him and he was forced to resume the battle. Lynnette felt her heart torn at the decisions her husband put before her, and knew that he was right. No matter what happened, they couldn't let their son be hurt. They would both rather die themselves than see the day their child fall to an enemy blade.

But to leave Mark!

"I'm not leaving dad." Harry murmured beside her, his grip so tight on the handle of his dagger that his knuckles showed white. She closed her eyes, jumping into another spell as the conflict continued within her. It and the unrelenting pain in her shoulder threatened to destroy her concentration, but she held on to it stubbornly, not allowing them to take her control away.

A wave of water rose up before her and crashed forward, pushing her enemies back. Their own Bhodi Blastias glowed and a translucent shield came up all around them, the water passing them harmlessly. Now that they knew they were dealing with a magic user they were ready.

Then suddenly, amidst all the sounds of metal against metal behind her, there was a startled gasp that turned into a scream. Her reflexes saved her then, for she ducked and rolled forward despite the protesting pain in her shoulder. As she came back up and around, she could remember the small prick of pain on her back that had initiated her manoeuvre. She watched in horror as the Red Eye drew the full length of his blade out of Mark's chest, its tip having gone through far enough to have impaled Lynnette as well if she had not moved.

She screamed and flung herself forward, trying to catch Mark as he simply shuddered and crumpled towards the ground. The one who had killed him saw her lowered guard and moved in for a second kill. She ignored him, her full attention fixed on her fallen husband, on his bloody and shuddering body on the ground. Harry was screaming something behind her but she didn't register the words, just the sound.

As the Red eye descended upon her for the kill, an arrow slammed into him, its Arte-enhanced power and speed driving the tip and shaft right through the flesh of his arm into his side. He was thrown aside, his arm pinned to his chest, the arrow having punctured though a lung and his heart. He met the cobblestone street, quite dead. Lynnette fell over the body of Mark, frantically digging through all the strength she had to gather what useful aer she could, channelling it into the man.

"F-First Aid." She sobbed, clutching onto his hand desperately as the spell took hold. All around her the battle still raged, but she barely heard any of it. As the last of the fighting finally died down, someone fell to his knees beside her. Raven was gasping for breath, clutching at the left side of his chest as if he was in pain.

"Lynnette...are you...OK?" He asked between gasps, his limbs shaking from fatigue. She shook her head wordlessly, taking in a deep breath to gather her composure even as she sent another compulsive healing spell into the body of her fallen partner. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her from continuing and let go gently as she turned to face him.

"Save your strength. We need to get him a healer as soon as possible." He told her, removing his hand from his chest the moment he saw her glancing at it with concern. She gave her a weak reassuring smile.

Harry wormed his way between the two of them, clutching at his mother's arm and staring in horror down at the bloody mess that was his father. He was still alive- they could see the spasmodic rise and fall of his chest, the twitching of his fingers. Lynnette glanced down at her son in horror to see that he was covered in blood, the entirety of the left side of his shirt soaked through. He did not seem hurt though.

Raven turned to Lynnette, grimacing at the bolt that still protruded from her shoulder. She glanced at it fully, and suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Too much blood, too much death. What had gone wrong today?

Raven leaned forward and quickly assessed Mark's wounds to the best of his ability. The Red Eye's thin blade had slipped through his ribs in the front, punctured his right lung, and exited the other side. The cut was clean and straight. He was breathing - barely, but at least he was still alive. Blood bubbled out of the wounds as air escaped his broken lung.

"Do you have any gels with you?" He asked Lynnette, keeping his composure. The woman nodded, letting go of her bloody shoulder to reach into a pocket, taking out a handful of the little medicinal packets. Raven took two of the apple gels and removed their plastic wrapping, carefully placing them into Mark's mouth before turning his attention back to the wrapping themselves. The gels would dissolve quickly in saliva by themselves, and letting them do so was safer than trying to make him swallow it.

He rolled the unconscious man onto his side, working quietly, keeping his calm the best he could. His hands were shaking slightly, but he managed to cut away the shirt around his puncture wounds, secure the plastic wrapping over them, and tied them in place with bandages from his pack. Not too tightly so that air could escape when Mark exhaled but firmly enough in place so that when breathing in the man would not have air rush in from the punctures.

He turned back to Lynnette, who watched on, ashen-faced.

"He is going to be fine." Raven lied, picking up the bow he had dropped to the ground beside him. With a flick of his wrist it snapped and folded neatly in half and he deftly sheathed it by his side, seemingly drawing his knife in the same motion. He motioned towards Lynnette's shoulder.

"We shouldn't pull it out until we get some healers on that, but we need to take the shaft off." He told her, and Lynnette grimaced but nodded. Raven moved in with the knife and she brought her good arm up, biting down hard on her sleeves as he sawed through the wood, doing his best not to jostle it. It was done in a matter of seconds and he quickly padded the wound around the bolt with whatever bandages he could find in his first-aid kit, securing it all in place with bandages. It would keep the piece of the arrow still in from moving around and doing more damage.

He and Lynnette worked together to lift the injured man, placing him on Raven's back. Time was of the essence now. Mark's injuries were grave, and the longer this dragged on the lower his chances of surviving was.

"We need to get back to the Guild." Lynnette spoke up tiredly, picking up her staff. He nodded, and the three of them worked their way down the street as quickly as they could. Harry followed them wordlessly, one hand still tightly clutched on the handle of his bloody dagger, the drying liquid cracking and flaking off his small hands.

They reached one of the main streets of the city quickly, where the earliest risers were already up and about. The few that saw them stared with curiosity, but stayed away. It was obvious that there had been a bloody fight and people were hurt, but it was not the policy of guilds to interfere with the affairs of other guilds unless if it was directly related to them.

One merchant setting up her shop for the day seemed to recognize one of them though, and hurried across the street, wide-eyed. The young women stared at the blood that covered them all, especially that on the small boy.

"Raven!" She hurried to his side frantically. "What happened?"

"Arwin?" He asked tiredly, then shook his head.

"We were attacked. We-" He began to say, then looked over at Lynnette before continuing. "Can you please go get the Mage's guild? Tell them to send healers to the where we're heading, Saggitarius Inn."

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded and dashed off. Lynnette considered this for a moment, but was too tired to argue. He hadn't revealed too much, but it never hurt to be careful. There was a lot of people who wanted her, and especially her father, dead. It had become too evident today.

As they neared their destination the streets became more crowded as the city awoke for the day from its restless slumber. Lynnette couldn't care less about the stares coming her way as she fought back pain and discomfort. She was sweaty profusely though it was a chilly morning, and sher was sure that she was going to throw up any minute now.

"Whoa there, what happened 'ere?" Someone from the street cried out, making his way to their side. Lynnette recognized him right away, a tall and well-build man, staring at the battle-weary group. He swore when he recognized their faced.

" 'the hell happened? Oh geez, is that Mark?"

He hurried them through the streets and they finally pushed their way through the doors of a well-run inn named "Saggitarius". Lynnete could see Raven's legs shaking as people around the inn quickly got to their feet and rushed to help Mark off his back. Two strong men carried him upstairs.

Steadying his breath, Raven moved to the nearest table and drew a chair for Lynnette who gratefully took it. He pulled out another chair next to her and simple collapsed into it, visibly exhausted. Harry hesitated at his mother's side, before climbing onto her lap and hugging her hard, careful to avoid her shoulder. He finally allowed his dagger to fall to the ground, and Lynnette held her son close, reassuringly.

There were tears in his eyes and he was shaking badly. Lynnette's heart cried for her son, as she suddenly realized what he had done and what he was going through.

He had killed a man. Harry, during that fight, had stabbed and killed one of the Red-Eyes in a desperate attempt at self-defence. Harry had witnessed too many fights before to be so affected by the sight of blood, but tonight he had taken a life. It was something she wished her own son could have avoided in this violent city.

"What is going on here?" A deep, commanding voice suddenly demanded. Lynnette looked up above the mess of blonde hair that was her son's head to see a commanding figure moving down the stairs. He was a large man, not too tall but fairly large around. This wasn't to say he was fat though, oh no- he was several hundred pounds of pure muscle. A large sword was strapped to his back, too big for many men to wield two-handed. She has seen him use it easily with one.

"Father." She breathed, and Harry scrambled off her as she struggled to rise to her feet. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she felt like firecrackers were going off behind her eyeballs. She stumbled back into her chair. Several people jumped in to help support her, and she doubled over, hurling over the floor.

"Calm down." A voice stayed with her the entire time "Sit down and relax. Everything is going to be alright." It was Raven.

As he guided her back down into a chair, someone offered her a rag and she quickly wiped her face and clothes clean, gratefully gulping down a glass of water passed her. She looked up to see her father standing before her, his face etched with concern. It was a rare expression for the fearless Don. Beside her Raven held onto her good arm, keeping her up in case she would fall.

"The healers should be here soon." Raven told the Don, and he simply acknowledged this with a nod. "We should let her rest, I can tell you what-" He continued, but the large man held up a hand and cut him off.

"Lynnette, are you well enough to explain who would dare attack my family?" he asked her, and she nodded slowly, leaning back into her chair and closing her eyes.

"Red Eyes." She murmured. "I went to meet Mark. A group of them ambushed us. They were waiting. Raven saved us."

The man turned to look at Raven.

"It was just outside my inn. I heard the fighting and went out to investigate." He hastily explained. That sounded just like Raven, Lynnette though. No smart citizen of Dahngrest would have been stupid enough to go out and check.

It was then that the doors to the inn opened, and everyone turned to face the newcomers. Five people came in. One of them was Adwin, and one woman wore intricate flowing robes of black, with red and gold designs. The other three wore the red and white tunics of Healers from the Mage's Guild, Grimoire Light.

"I-brought them." Adwin the merchant gasped, glancing around the crowded room curiously. It wasn't common for the inns to be so packed in the morning, but then again perhaps people had just been drawn to a point of interest. "I have to go now. Good luck Raven." And she slipped back out.

The four mages strode forward, approaching the Don.

"Good morning Don. I'll take a wild guess and say that one of your guild members is h- ah. Lynn." The mage in the black robes glanced past the man to see the woman leaning back in her chair. The Mage adjusted her glasses nervously at the sight of blood, and then her eyes fell on Lynn's son, and more specifically the large red stains all over the boy's clothing and skin.

"Vivian, my son needs immediately attention. Travis will lead you to where he is." The Don told the mage calmly, and Vivian nodded, gesturing for two of the Healers to go with the man Don indicated. The other one stepped forward, taking a quick magical scan of Lynnette's wound before helping her to her feet, and gestured for Harry to follow.

"Can we get a room for her? This will be more comfortable for her if there is a bed." The mage requested, and the Don nodded an affirmation. Raven quickly got to his feet onto Lynn's other side and helped support her as between the two of them they carried her up the stairs. Harry followed behind quietly, unwilling to leave his mother.

Lynnette allowed them to half-carry her to her room, too tired to care. Her legs were jelly and her stomach was twisted into impossible knots. Her mind constantly drifted back to Mark, filling her with dread.

"I'll be back soon Lynn." Raven whispered as they lowered her onto her bed. "I'll fill the Don in on everything that has happened."

As he turned to leave she reached out and caught his sleeve. He paused at the tug and turned back to face her even as the healer began to dig through her bag for the supplies she would need.

"Get one of the healers to take a look at you as well." She told him firmly, with as much strength as she could put behind her words. "You used...quite a number of Artes that battle."

"I will, don't worry." He assured her, squeezing her hand before letting go and leaving the room. She watched him leave and stared up at the ceiling with a sigh, suddenly remembering that moment back when she had been kneeling beside her husband, when Raven had collapsed beside her.

He had been clutching at the left side of his chest. She cursed herself for not having registered the significance of that movement earlier, and only hoped that Raven will request one of the healer's to look at it as soon as he could. She knew how dangerous using Artes here was for him.

"Lynnette? I'm going to put you to sleep now." The healer told her, grabbing the Bhodi Blastia charm of her necklace tightly. Lynnette nodded, reaching her good arm up behind her head to pull off the elastic that bound her hair. Pulling that free, she relaxed more fully back into her pillow. Moments later the healer fell into spellcasting and Lynn felt a tug at the edge of her consciousness. Holding back her reflex to fight off such a magical intrusion, she allowed herself to slip into a deep dreamless sleep.

She hoped for the best.

xXxXxXxXx

When she woke again it was dark. Her mind was still groggy from the magic-induced sleep and she could not for the life of her remember why she felt so anxious. With a groan she pushed herself up into a sitting position, and stopped when she felt resistance against her left arm moving. Staring down she could see the ghostly white of bandages against the dark background of night. Bandages and dressings held her shoulder in place.

Her memories came back in a flood as she realized that Mark wasn't around. She was on the bed by herself and the rest of the room was still, empty but for the writing table and shelves of books and supplies. She stumbled off the bed and lurched for the Blastia by her bed, picking up a smooth round stone -a blastia core- and inserted it into a hole in the wall, the perfect size for it. An instant later the room flared with light, the Blastia giving off a bright glow that suffused the entire room.

Her head was pounding, and she brought her hand up to her forehead, the Bhodi Blastia around her wrist glowing briefly before releasing the aer it had gathered.

"Fist Aid." She murmured, sighing in relief as healing energy coursed through her, reducing the pain in her head to a negligible throb. She glanced outside again, wondering how long she had been out. She made her way across her bed to her window, pushing it open. Up above the glow of the Barrier Blastia everything was tinged a soft purple, the stars and the moon invisible through the haze of aer. A thin band of light purple, almost pink, stretched behind the buildings of Dahngrest. It was early dawn.

It was quiet, both inside and outside. She could feel the stillness of the building, not the peaceful stillness of rest but the crouched, anxious stillness of a fearful animal hiding from its predator.

Lynnette got to her feet, quietly slipping into her shoes as she draped a jacket over her thin nightgown, guardedly holding her left arm against herself to avoid jostling it. She padded to her door and opened it.

"Mmhuh-? OW!"

The moment she turned the door handle the door swung in, some weight having been leaning against it. It was Raven. He seemed to have been leaning back against the door, and the sudden removal of the support had caused him to fall back, the back of his head colliding with ground. She stared down at him, who quickly pushed himself back up to a sitting position. By his side was Harry, who tiredly rubbed his eyes, still mostly asleep. Raven looked like he just got woken up as well. Both had changed into a new set of clothes, free of the blood and dirt of battle.

"What are you doing here?"

"Aw geez I fell asleep didn't I? Uh...this looks bad doesn't it?"

Lynnette crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for an explanation. He stood up, rubbing the back of his head apologetically.

"We were worried 'bout you." He explained, bending down to help Harry to his feet. "This little guy wanted to see you. Refused to leave the door."

Harry looked up to see his mom, and suddenly stepped forward, wrapping his mother into a wordless hug. She felt him shaking, and quickly got down to her knees to bring her son into a calming embrace. He cried silently into her nightgown, and she sighed, looking back up at Raven.

"The healer said not to disturb you untill you woke up. Stubborn little kid wouldn't leave the door, so I decided to accompany him." He explained. "I guess the both of us were more tired than we thought."

Lynnette ran her fingers through her son's hair, calming him down to the best of her ability.

Eventually she got to her feet, Harry standing beside her, clutching at her hand. Raven stayed silent through the exchange, doing his best not to look too intrusive on the family moment. She took a deep calming breath before facing him and asking him the question.

"How is Mark doing?"

The change of expression on his face shot paralysing dread down her spine, and she felt herself turn cold. She knew his answer before he even spoke and braced herself for the words.

"He...wasn't doing well." He started cautiously. "I last talked to the healers last night, so I don't know how he's progressed since then.

Lynnette nodded, forcing herself to relax. She was tensing her muscles in her shoulder, hurting from her wound.

"Give me a few minutes to get changed." She told him, then gently urged her son out of the room. He reluctantly complied, waiting outside quietly. A little while later she stepped out in a light tan shirt under a leather plate and dark brown breeches. She hadn't put her hair up, allowing it to tumble down about her shoulders.

Together they headed downstairs, and she paused hesitantly by the room Mark was resting in. Raven tugged on her sleeve though, and she reluctantly continued onwards, the three of them heading downstairs to the first floor of the inn.

It was mostly empty. Round wooden tables dotted the floor, a large serving bar up against the side of the room facing the entrance. A few people sat around the tables though the doors were locked. They looked up at the three's approach, and many of them quickly looked away when they saw Lynnette. One of them got to her feet at the sight of her though, rushing across the room towards them. It was Vivian, her dark robes fluttering behind her and her unkempt dark hair bounced around her shoulders, halfway out of their bindings. She looked exhausted and Lynnette wouldn't be surprised if she had stayed up the entire night.

"You're awake." Vivian noted tiredly, stopping in front of them. Raven quickly pulled out chairs for all of them and they sat down around the table nearest the staircase as Vivian carefully explained.

"We...we've done the best we could." She began slowly, and Lynnette's hands visibly clutched together tightly, knuckles showing white. She gulped and gathered her courage.

"Is...is he-?" She started to ask, but her voice cracked and Vivian shook her head, leaning forward to grab the other's hands with her own.

"No, he's still alive." Vivian explained. "But..."

The Mage took a deep breath, then glanced over at Raven. He nodded and got to his feet, helping Harry off his chair. The small boy didn't want to leave, but he was firm about it, and eventually took him across the room where other members of the Guild were waiting.

"He's...in really bad shape. Me and my healers have been putting all our strength into sustaining his life, but we've been able to do very little to bring him back." She told Lynnette bluntly. "I'll be frank. We're all exhausted, and we can't keep this up much longer. We can bring more healers, but I doubt we can save him."

What else did she expect? His wounds had been serious. She should have expected this, prepared herself for it, but she had not allowed herself to, having clung onto a ray of hope. Vivian squeezed her hand reassuringly. Lynnette felt her heart constrict in her chest as grief threatened to overwhelm her, and she fought back tears as she slowly loosened her grip on the mage's hand.

"Is...is there nothing you can do for him?" It was incredibly hard to choke out the words, as if her throat had constricted and squeezed shut, forcing her to push the air through. Vivian shook her head.

"I'm sorry, we couldn't..." Vivian started, but her words caught in her throat. The next few minutes came by as a blank blur. All she knew was that suddenly, his father was by her side, his large callused hands picking her up, wiping away the tears that streaked her face, brushing aside the hair that stuck to her skin. She fell into his embrace, burying herself within his strong arms as if they would shield her from the world.

They were moving then. She was in Mark's room, with barely the memory of the journey here. She saw him laid out on the bed, new bedsheets under him and a clean blanket over him. A pile of bloody sheets were quickly shoved into a corner of the room by the healers at his side. They all looked exhausted and gave Lynn an apologetic look.

They let go of their magical hold on him, the magic that was keeping him alive. In what felt like an instant his ragged, uneven breathing stopped. Someone ran past her and collided with the bed, struggling to climb onto the surface that was half his height. He was screaming something. Someone else went past her and wrapped his arms around the small boy, pulling him back off the bed, talking to him in a soothing tone.

Lynnette turned to her son, who had collapsed into uncontrollable sobbing, while Raven held the boy tightly, murmuring reassurances. She fell to her knees and pulled her son towards her, and for a moment she pushed past her own grief at the face of her child's.

"Don't worry sweetheart." She murmured. "Daddy's with your grandmother now. They're in a better place, and they're happy there."

The boy hiccoughed violently, jerking and gasping for breath.

"Don't fight it dear, just let it out. It's OK to cry..." She began, but her voiced cracked and tears leaked out of the corner of her own eyes. Someone knelt down beside her and placed a firm hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry things worked out this way." Raven told her mournfully, and she could hear him choking on his words. "I'm so so sorry..."

"It's not your fault. You saved us." She replied sharply, and she clenched her hands as a shard of anger pierced her at the thought of the ones who had done this.

Raven didn't respond.

* * *

AN: I can't wait until I get back to this part of the story from Schwann's POV...


	2. Chapter 1: Union

AN: Sorry for the delay. I had most of this written for the longest time but I never felt like writing. I haven't proofread this yet and that's terrible I know, I'm sorry, but I'm tired and I can't guarantee I[ll be able to find Internet again anytime soon after this. Enjoy._  
_

* * *

_Two months ago_

Schwann knew he was close. Even through the driving rain he could see the large cloud of purple aer on the horizon. It stretched up into the sky, a large round dome that encompassed the city that was his destination. He's heard the stories of course, of the city shrouded in perpetual twilight, deepening the shadows of dark alleyways. It was a city of crime and violence, the home of barbarians.

And he was going to live there.

With a sigh he drew his travelling cloak more tightly around himself, trying to ward off the rain. It was no use of course. The continent of Tolbyccia rained and pretty much never stopped. There was a saying that originates from Capua Torim- there's only two seasons on this continent; the Wet and the Soaking season. The relentless rain had long ago penetrated the best of his rain gear and Schwann doubted that he had been fully dry since he had first passed the mountains that separated the mainland from the Peninsula where the Port city laid.

It had been a hard journey here. It was nearly a month's total travelling time by horseback, with a brief trip by ship to get onto the new continent. He had gone along with a merchant group from Zaphias all the way to Capua Torim, but from there he was on his own. This continent was mostly deserted, with very few people willing to put up with the problems perpetual rain poses.

At least he was almost through the wettest of the area. Another day's journey from now he'd be mostly free from this cursed rain, and he'd arrive at the city of the Guilds.

Ah, Dahngrest. He wasn't sure what to expect. People from the Empire rarely travelled there, and Guild members rarely came to Empire cities. Some Merchant guilds operated within the empire, but only one, Fortune's Market, has had much in the way of success. There were just too many limits put on those who had deserted the Empire to form their own life on this miserable soaking wet piece of land. The idea of going to such a place didn't appeal much to the sensible Knight, but at the moment a warm dry bed sounded amazing. A bath would be great too. He's sure that by now he was so saturated with mud it's probably impossible to wash off.

_Why did I let myself get talked into this?_ He groaned inwardly for about the millionth time on this trip. He knew the answer of course, but it felt better to complain. Alexei had asked him a favour, albeit quite a rather huge favour, and Schwann owed the Commandant. Not only were they best friends -or at least, they once were- but Alexei had saved his life back during the war. The Knight Captain still had a lot of repaying to do for that.

So he had travelled halfway across the world on horseback, soaked to the bone and with blisters in places he doesn't even want to think about, and was getting ready to live in a city devoid of the Upper Quarter Luxuries he was used to and reputably filled with criminals of all kinds in large concentrations. Oh, not to mention most of Dahngrest would gladly slit his throat and display his dead body at their front door if they knew he was an Imperial Knight. Guildmembers, with very few exceptions, hated the Imperial Knights. At least that's what he's been told.

Well this seem like it's going to be fun.

The day passed with little incident. He set up camp just beside the small, uneven road as the sky began to darken. An unfortunate monster stumbled upon him as he was setting up a tent, some sort of squat quadrupedal creature with a large, serrated horn jutting out just above its nose. Schwann could hear it coming from several hundred metres away, the creature not a thing of stealth. Within seconds he had dropped the tent pole, allowing the entire thing to collapse onto the ground, and taken out a peculiar looking sword out of the sheathe at his side.

A complex looking contraption held the blade and the hilt together, and with a deft flick of his wrist Schwann unfolded the sword into a full sized bow. An arrow came out of the quiver on his back, and he was careful not to allow any destructive rainwater in. He nocked, drew, and trained his sight on the creature just as it came into view, bursting out of the underbrush. A second later the arrow flew true and straight, into its small, open mouth. The Knight ducked out of the way as the injured creature stumbled past from its momentum, collapsing as the arrow exploded within it.

Its armoured shell contained most of the blast, and also intensified the damage. It was dead by the time Schwann got up to his feet and went to make sure the creature was fully taken care of. He grimaced at the mess, sheathing his bow-sword and got to work on disposing of the body. No need to attract more monsters with this one's corpse.

By the time he finally set up camp and applied the monster barrier over his tent and the rain shelter he made for his two horses, it was well after dark and he dug through his usual meal of dried food without much enthusiasm. Living on military rations _suck_.

The night passed just like any other, with the constant sound of hard rain pattering against the canvas of his tent drowning out all other sound. The next morning wasn't any more eventful, and he packed up quickly with practised ease. There was an impatience in his actions that morning as he tied his supplies onto the pack horse and pulled himself onto the riding horse. By the end of the day he will be finally warm and dry again.

The rain let up near noon, and though the sun still wasn't willing to show itself, it was still a vast improvement. Schwann quickly drew back his hood, squeezing dry what bits of his dark brown hair had been exposed to the rain dripping off the front of his hood. The horses were glad for the change in weather too, for their ears popped up hopefully and there was more energy behind their steps.

As the sky began to darken and the sun slipped under the horizon somewhere, the trees finally gave way all around him, forest shrinking to low shrubs and then finally a large open plain. Through the middle of the plain two large rivers converged, and nestled before the fork of the river was the bright glowing lights of an active Barrier Blastia and hundreds of brightly lit windows.

A faint purple haze drifted over the entirety of the plains, but when he finally entered the city half an hour later, the concentration of aer spiked up the moment he passed the outer radius of the barrier. He could feel the aer thick about him, and he suddenly felt uneasy. It can't be too bad if people are living here, but he was still wary about the high concentration.

Not many people gave him a second glance as he worked his way through the town on horseback. He looked all around curiously as they passed, noting way they dressed, walked, spoke. They seemed so different from the people he was used to, even those he had met in the Lower Quarter!

It had the bustle and life of a busy city though. Merchants and vendors lined the streets unlicensed, showing off their wares -rather loudly- and flashing them at passerbys in an attempt to make a sale. A group of people were crowded outside one building, locked in what, incredibly, sounded like a shouting contest. As the crowd began to thicken as he went deeper into the city, he dismounted his horse and led the two by hand to avoid any accidents.

He held his tongue as someone moved past him and shoved him aside, sending the Knight into his horse, who snorted and pawed at the ground angrily. Schwann settled with glaring at the man's back before calming his horse back down, reminding himself that here he was not a Captain of the Imperial Knights here. He couldn't not expect the respect that he was used to getting from fellow Knights and civilians alike.

His patience was worn rather thin after the third pickpocket tried to nick his rather elaborate Bhodi Blastia. Twice by the _same person_. He simply grabbed the offenders by the wrist and scolded them before letting them go. Looks like simple intimidation doesn't go very far with these people.

So when he saw the first inn that didn't look like it was meant to house farm animals, he headed for it immediately. He headed around to the back of the inn -which he noted was named 'Arcturus'-, where a stable boy was more than willing to help him with his horses after receiving a bronze gald, and he entered the inn.

It was crowded, to no surprise. Dinner was being served as the smell of food and strong drink permeated every inch of the loud, boisterous room. Schwann knitted his eyebrows together with irritation at the sight, and proceeded to make his way through the room towards the counter, which was also currently serving as a bar.

He noted the weapons belted at everyone's hips, and the way they shifted when he got near so that they never allowed their backs to face him fully. Even the women and the children had the look of tense prey, ready to bolt at the sight of a predator. Great, so even the townspeople were scared of the townspeople. Schwann could tell that he was _really_ going to enjoy his stay here.

When he finally made his way to the counter, he faced a man who sat at his post with a bored expression on his face, cleaning a mug with a dirty-looking cloth. He was leaning back in his chair, perilously close to toppling over backwards.

"Good evening." Schwann greeted, raising his voice to be heard above the din of the crowd. The man looked up at him then his attention immediately went back to the mug.

"What 'chu want?" He asked dully, and Schwann had to strain to hear him over the noise of the inn.

"I would like to stay at your inn. What is the rate here?"

"5 gald a night fer the common room. 20 gald a night for a private room."

Schwann raised an eyebrow at the price. That was _cheap_. Lodgings back at Zaphias could range anywhere between 50 gald a night to 500, to upwards of the thousands if it was in the upper quarter.

Schwann reached into the pocket sewn onto the inside of his travelling cloak, pulling out a small leather bag. He took out a gold gald and two silvers, placing them on the counter.

"Two months in a private room." Schwann told the man, sliding the three coins across. The man leaned forward, his chair coming down to even ground with a dull _thud_ as he took the two silvers without interest but his eyes visibly shined when he picked up the gold.

"Private room it is sir." He cackled, pocketing the gald and getting up. "New ta Dahngrest aren't ya?"

Before Schwann could reply the man had already ducked down under the counter. He came up a minute later, holding a simple key. He twirled it around his fingers once before handing it to the Knight.

"Thank you." He took the keys, and the man broke into laughter again.

"No need ta thank me mister. Ya give me the money and I give ya the room, it's how it works ya see? Neither of us are doing the other a favour."

Schwann turned with a shrug, looking down at the key for the room number engraved on the handle. He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder though, and turned to see the inn employee leaning across the counter towards him.

"A word 'o advice. Don't be so free with that gold 'o yers. Wouldn't want ta make a target 'o yerself would ya?"

Schwann shrugged the hand off.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." He assured the man, then turned and fought his way back through the crowd towards the staircase that lead up into the private rooms. He sighed in relief as he finally broke free of the crowds and hurried up the stairs, the loudness fading away behind him. He found his room quickly and slipped in. He could still hear the chaos below, vibrating through the floor and the walls.

It was at least, peaceful here though and he glanced around the room wearily. It was small, with enough room for the one-man bed in the corner, a small square table shoved against the wall, some walking space between the sparse furniture and...that was about it. He headed for the window at the head of the bed, climbing over it to opened the shutters towards the outside.

More noise came in. It was still loud out on the streets, possibly even more so as people began to come out of taverns and inns drunk. He watched a fight start just beneath him, which soon turned into a brawl, which was then broke up by people working at Arcturus inn who chased away the brawlers with blunt weapons and angry cries.

They took up their fight again somewhere else that did not interfere with the business of the inn. Schwann closed the window then, having also spotted at least two pickpockets at their work, one of whom had been caught. The victim was not nearly as merciful as Schwann would had been- that pickpocket left with broken bones and bad bruises.

He sat down on his bed, sighing deeply as he considered what seemed like a very unpleasant task ahead of him. So far the city was less than impressive, and he doubted that it'll grow on him. For the sensible knight this place was nothing more than a den of thieves, murders and the lowest of the low. He vowed that he would take care of his mission as soon as he could and march right home where the comforts of Zaphias awaited.

He grunted as a dull throbbing pain began in his forehead, and he dropped his head into his hands, nursing the headache until it disappeared. He was tired, he decided. He had just travelled for a month living off dried food and whatever he could hunt, moving almost constantly. Tiny and low-quality or not, at least this place had a bed.

He really didn't feel like going downstairs again, so he grabbed his bags and dug out the last of his food, shoved some of it down, and began digging around for a change of clothes. He really didn't feel like sleeping in the relatively clean bed with his mud soaked travelling gear.

By the time he was ready for bed, the city was still wide awake, and possibly even busier than before. The stable boy came in briefly to drop off all the gear that had still been attached to the horse's saddle. Schwann checked his gear thoroughly before allowing the boy to go, but not before he retrieved the small Bhodi Blastia Core the boy had nicked.

He locked the door behind the boy, then tiredly walked over to the bed where he plopped down onto it. the mattress wasn't very good, stuffed some some hard material -probably straw- and he felt the impact jarring his bones. Right, nice springy mattresses weren't available here apparently.

With a groan he slipped his shoes off and climbed under the covers, pulling the blanket over his head to drown out the noise still seeping in from outside and downstairs. After tossing and turning for what felt like forever, the warm darkness of sleep finally came and claimed him.

xXxXxXxXx

He was stiff and sore all over the next morning, a feeling he was not so unaccustomed to now after a month on the road. He got up and dressed quickly, slipping on a chaimail shirt which he wore under a dark brown tunic. He found a mirror and got someone to bring up a large bowl of water, so he could shave away the formidable beard that had grown in since he had left Capua Torim.

He went downstairs then for breakfast. The inn was oddly silent and empty after the bustle of the night before, with only a few patrons spread throughout the room. The food wasn't amazing, but to the travel-weary Knight some warm porridge was a welcome change.

He very quickly asked the innkeeper for the location of the nearest bathhouse after he finished his meal, and spent a good hour washing off the grime of the road. When he finally got back to his room, he was in a considerably better mood than the day before. Stocking a knapsack with some gald, water, and other miscellaneous necessities, he readied himself to explore the city for the day. He might as well get to know this place if he was going to live here.

The streets were crowded and busy, but not overly so. He walked through unhindered, doing his best to look relaxed and as if he belonged here. People took note anyways, for even just the way he carried himself was visibly different from the others.

For the most part he made his way blindly across the city. He didn't know the layout of Dahngrest at all, but he kept a good mental map as he walked through the main streets. He stopped by a bakery at noon to grab some food for lunch, then continued his survey of the city. Dahngrest showed signs of a quickly growing, sprawling, population.

Within its heart was the town square, a large round open area where all of the main roads of the city spread out from. At its heart is large structure that reached up towards the sky, glowing faintly- the town's Barrier Blastia. Nearer the town square the streets came out in an orderly fashion, straight with strong well-built buildings lining them.

As he came out farther from the center of the town though, the streets began to stray from its straight path, wandering in an almost random fashion as the buildings built around them seem ever more in danger of toppling.

There seemed to be a visible line between what Schwann could only assume was the old Dahngrest and the newer portions built after its inception. His own inn was somewhere on this line. By the end of the day he had a good idea of the layout of the city, at least where its major streets were and how they were aligned with each other. The City wasn't nearly as large as the capital city of the Empire, Zaphias, but it was still quite large.

He found his own inn after half an hour of searching -apparently he didn't know the city that well yet- an hour or two before sunset. It was empty looking, about only a dozen or so people sitting around at various tables, less than a third of what the inn could hold. He found this preferable to the noise of the day before though, and quickly found a small table in the corner of the room, taking one of the two chairs.

A waiter came to him then and took his order. After looking through the menu for a few minutes, he ordered a plate of salmon and a glass of wine. The waiter left with his order and he sat back in his chair, waiting for his food to arrive.

Even during the small amount of time this took many more people began to filter through the doors of the inn. Schwann watched them, the men strong and gruff, the women hardy and stern. They were a different breed entirely from the people he saw the most in the Upper Quarter. His food came some half an hour later, and he dug in. The Salmon wasn't bad, though it could be a bit fresher. The wine was cheap but surprisingly good, though it didn't come anywhere near the quality he was used to. He paced himself through his meal, taking small bites and small sips unconsciously, not noticing how out of place he seemed with his simple table manners.

A large burly man approached him halfway through his meal, and Schwann looked up cautiously. He was tall and well muscled, what looked like a broadsword strapped across his back. Weapons were so commonly kept here in Dahngrest that no one else seemed to give it a second glance, but Schwann was reflexively nervous. No one could get away with carrying something like that into an inn back in the Capital.

"Everywhere else has been taken." The man told Schwann, and motioned for the chair opposite the knight. "Mind if I sit here?"

Schwann shook his head automatically, more out of social reflexes than actually not minding. The man pulled the chair back and sat down, and Schwann could almost hear the protesting creak of the chair leg as the man's no doubt hefty weight was placed upon it. The man waved a waiter over and ordered his meal with no hesitance.

He then leaned forward on the table, eyeing Schwann who was no longer very interested in his meal.

"I 'aint never seen ya around here before." The man commented, and Schwann shrugged, trying to ignore him. He felt panic rise up within him unexpectedly, and he fought it down, bewildered. What did he have to be afraid of? Someone noting he was a newcomer really shouldn't be that alarming.

"Quiet one aren't cha? Ya new or something?" The man asked with a large grin. Raven gulped down what food he still had in his mouth before responding warily.

"Yes. I just arrived yesterday."

The man nodded knowingly with a wide, toothy grin.

"No offence, but ya stick out like a sore thumb." He commented with a laugh. Schwann sat stiffly in his seat, unsure if he had just been insulted or not. He really found it hard to figure out these guildspeople.

"Where ya hail from? Ya don't seem like yer from Nordopolica." The man continued to ask, and Schwann felt a twinge of annoyance at all the questions as well as caution. Was it normal for a man to be so curious about someone else's history? He had yet to get a good feel for the culture here.

"No, I just came from Zaphias." He replied. He and Alexei had agreed that the less Schwann had to lie the easier it would be for him to play his part. His story was well-rehearsed by now.

The man whistled.

"Long ways off. So what brought ya here? Gotta be somethin' good for such a hard journey."

Schwann shrugged, cutting off and spearing another piece of his meal with a fork.

"Got sick of living there. My business was doing poorly. The taxes are ridiculous. There was nothing holding me down, so I decided to leave." Was all he offered, giving the most common complaint heard by the government of the Empire. The man thought this over for a second then nodded.

"If yer a merchant, you can try yer luck at getting inta Fortune's Market. Don't think ya'll have an easy time here though. Business can be...vicious." He commented, pushing his chair back as a waiter approached, allowing her to drop a plate of steak and a tankard of ale in front of him. The man rubbed his hands in anticipation, digging into his meal the moment she had her hands free of the plate.

"If not Fortune's Market, there's some other tradin' guilds around here. I'm assumin' you already know who're ya joining?" The man asked through a mouthful of partially chewed food. Schwann did his best to not screw his face into a look of disgust at the lack of table manners.

"Actually, I wasn't really planning to join a Guild..." Schwann started, but from the way the man suddenly sat up and quickly gulped down his food, the Knight could tell he had made the wrong answer. He leaned across the table, and Schwann felt himself leaning back against the back of his chair in discomfort.

"Bad idea." The man told him seriously. "See, this here is a Guild Town. It's how we live, how we run."

He paused and Schwann didn't reply, and the man sat back into his seat.

"What's yer name?"

The Knight was caught off guard by the suddenly question, and fumbled with his answer before clearing his throat and repeating it.

"Raven. The name's Raven." He finally responded clearly, and quickly took a sip of his wine to hide his stumble.

"Well see, _Raven_, this here Dahngrest 'aint work nothing like the Empire. People need ta rely on each other ya know? Guilds are yer family- ya protect them and they'll protect you. Free birdies don't last very long here, they're visible and a target up in the sky, ya get what my meanin'? Those with their winged clipped, well, they stay low and they stay 'live." The man told him with a laugh, ripping another large chunk off his steak.

Schwann scowled slightly, being able to pick out the insult to his alias well enough. He had known it was a stupid name when Alexei suggested it! Not that Schwann himself had any better suggestions. The two of them weren't very creative it seems.

"I'll keep that in mind." He replied firmly, making sure that the other knew that he was not amused. The man ignored him though, grabbing his rather large tankard and taking an alarmingly big gulp from it. Schwann could see the ale trickling down the man's beard, and decided it was about time he left and got some time to himself. He hasn't seen behaviour like this since he had been in the war amongst hundreds of other Knights three years ago.

"Excuse me. I'm not feeling very well, so I'll be taking my leave." Schwann explained, draining what was left in his cup and picking up his plate. As he stood up the man's eyes darted to the swordbow at his hip, a grin tugging at the edge of his lips.

"Ya stand with the firmness of a fighter, and ya couldn't have gotten here by yerself less ya had some skill with that shiny blade 'o yers. If merchanting doesn't work out fer ya, the Blood Alliance might be interested in taking in a warrior like yerself."

"I'd prefer to keep my blade sheathed." Schwann replied firmly, pushing his chair aside so that he could begin making his way through the crowd.

"One last piece 'o advice then. Make sure ya stick with the right crowd or it'll spell trouble for ya. There's some troublemakers stirrin' up the city and it won't end well fer any of 'em. If anyone tries ta talk you into this Union nonsense, it's best to stay clear 'o them."

Schwann stopped then, turning back to look at the man, his interest piqued.

"What do mean by Union?" He asked, trying to sound simply curious. It was what Schwann was sent here to investigate and to stop. Alexei had explained about this group that was trying to bring the guilds together into a body of government over the city of Dahngrest. The guilds have always had enough people to be a threat to the empire, but they often fought and bickered amongst themselves. Bringing them together in this Union would make them pose a serious threat to the empire Alexei intended to make his own.

"Don't worry 'bout it too much. Some crazies want the guilds ta come together. It's never going to work."

He didn't want to push his luck. Having already shown his intention of leaving, staying to ask more would seem suspicious. He didn't want to draw any more attention to himself than he already was. Keeping a good grip on what was left of his dish he began shoving his way through the crowd towards the staircase, breathing a sigh of relief once he reached his room. All that noise and the stink of so many unwashed bodies in such cramped quarters was less than comfortable. Add that with his long journey here, he was tired. He gasped as pain jolted through the left side of his chest and he could guess well enough what had caused it. Setting his fish down on the table Schwann sat down on his bed, closing his eyes and willing himself to calm down.

He was probably still tired from the long journey, and his heart Blastia was sensitive to the cold. With the cloud of purple aer blocking the sun, it was constantly chilly in the city. His heart gave a small painful throb and Schwann rubbed his chest in irritation.

"First aid." His Bhodi Blastia glowed a faint green and Schwann sighed in relief as his heart immediately began to feel better. He was tired and was facing too much stress. It wasn't good for his heart, he would have to be careful with it. If anything happened Alexei wouldn't be around to fix it and Schwann would hardly be in the condition to alter the formula on his own.

He no longer felt much like finishing his dinner, so he left the plate outside his door, changed, and crawled under the blankets. Something began to pound painfully in his head, as if his brain was trying to burst free from his skull and he groaned, digging his face into his pillow. Tired, cold, and with the sudden headache, sleep did not come easily this night.

xXxXxXxXx

For the next week Schwann took it easy and did his best to make friends. The man who had given him the keys to his room turned out to be Norman Iwo, the innkeeper for Arcturus. The man seemed to have taken a liking to Raven and offered a lot of advice about surviving in the city, including his recommendations on what guilds to join.

From Norman Schwann began his investigation, trying to learn everything he could about the Union movement. There was precious little information, and the only thing he managed to learn the first day was from Norman.

"I don't know why yer so interested in 'em, but I hear the guild Altosk is the one tryin' ta gt it through."

The name Altosk came up several more times in conversations Schwann had with various people, but nobody seemed to know much about the guild. It wasn't that they were secretive -it sounds like they have proposed their idea personally to almost every major guild and many of the minor guilds in Dahngrest- but Altosk was very small. Only one person Schwann could find even knew who led the guild.

"One of them came to ask for our support." Randel the blacksmith told Schwann, working the bellows to stoke the fire hot enough to begin working.

"And what'd you say to them?" Schwann asked, having offered to help the man in place of one of his sick apprentices in exchange for a discount. He didn't really need a new mount for his Bhodi Blastia, but what was important was that Randel was too valuable a source of information.

"Well, I told them I'd consider it but they have to be careful. The Blood Alliance doesn't like them and that's dangerous." He replied, turning back to reach for the bar of iron he had taken out for the project. he tossed it into the forge and sat back to wait for it to soften.

"So who's the man leading all of this?" Schwann asked, pulling out a chair for himself.

"Don't know, never met him. The name's Don Whitehore though. His son-in-law was the one came to me, seems like he's one of their main messengers to the guilds. Brave guy- without the Blood Alliance's approval a lot of guilds have been against the idea of the Union. It's generated some bad feelings towards Altosk."

Randel seemed protective about the small guild's secrets and Schwann didn't push it. It was frustrating have to be so careful, but Schwann valued his life. The guilds seemed more and more dangerous the longer he stayed, and a part him simply hoped that what people say is true. The Union will never work and the idea will die and Schwann can then go home again.

Days later Schwann was making his way out of the marketplace, thinking about finding lunch somewhere decent. He still didn't trust the street-side stalls for food so he was heading to a restaurant he had gotten fond of on the west end of town.

As he made his way down the street his heart once again gave a painful throb. It hurt a lot this time, and Schwann stopped at the side of the street, clutching at his chest until the pain faded. He took several slow, deep breaths to calm himself before whispering a quick First Aid spell. His heart has been having a lot of trouble since he came to Dahngrest, and it was starting to worry him. He couldn't understand what was happening to his heart and there was no one he could go to.

"Damn it..." He swore, glancing around to see that he was right next to an inn. Perhaps it would be a good idea to step in, take a seat, rest it off. Maybe even get a cup of brandy...

He decided against it. The last thing he needed was to mix alcohol into his problems. Deciding that he should get back to his room and maybe get some sleep, he turned to go back. Or at least, he tried to.

His legs simply collapsed under him as if they held no strength. The pain back in full force, his mechanical heart racing faster than it should have. Gasping as he fell, Schwann knew that something was seriously wrong with him. He hit the ground gracelessly. He was breathing, he knew he was breathing- he could see the rise and fall of his chest. But he felt oddly detached from it, and was unable to move. He wondered dully if maybe he was dead...but he was definitely breathing...

"Oh my, what happened here?"

He heard a woman's voice above him, and tried to raise his head to see who it was, but his muscles would not obey his command. He saw a hand grab his wrist, checking for his pulse. She then shifted so that she was in front of him, and he could see her face.

She was about Schwann's age, in her mid-thirties. Her black hair was tied up in a ponytail, framing her pale face. She was pretty compared to most of the woman he's seen around here.

"Can you move at all?" She asked. Schwann tried to twitch a hand, and it barest of flinches. She didn't notice it. She moved around again, and pushed him up into a sitting position. Schwann wasn't sure if he was glad or not that they were at the side of the road and in shadows.

On one hand, if this girl was trying to help her, they weren't going to attract any attention. On the other hand, if she was just gonna kill him and loot his body, nobody would ever see.

Fortunately, she took took out a small wrapped package the size of her palm instead of a weapon of some sort. She unwrapped the thing, revealing a small red gelatinous substance, which she forced into Schwann's mouth. It slid down his throat, and suddenly, he felt control trickle back into his limbs. He gagged at the taste of the gel -it was a standard healing item, an apple gel, and it was really, really sweet- and coughed as he almost spat it back up. The girl thumped him on the back harder than she needed to, and before he could protest, forced another one down his throat.

"No- thank you! I'm fine, I'm fine!" He complained as she reached into her pocket to grab another one.

"Ah, finally some sort of reaction out of you I see. You're lucky I found you, what were you thinking, collapsing in the middle of the street like that?" The girl asked him, a wry smile on her face.

"Wait, what? I didn't decide to collapse! I don't even know what happened to m-" He stopped and grimaced as his heart throbbed painfully once more. Why is it that even though the damned thing's a Blastia and not his own flesh, it still hurt so much?

She shoved a bottle into his hands, and he considered it for a moment before shrugging and gulping it down. It was a Panacea Bottle, which is rather pricy, but it works well to cure most afflictions.

"Well, I do. You a newcomer to the city?" The girl told him, helping him to his feet. The pain faded away to a dull ache.

"Uh, yeah, I guess." He mumbled, nearly toppling over as he felt all the blood rush out of his head. The girl nodded.

"Well, that explains a lot. You've been using that Bhodi blastia of yours?" She gestured to the gold bracelet on Schwann's wrist. He nodded.

"You idiot. You're aersick. Haven't you noticed how thick the aer is in this city?" She scowled, looking rather peeved. Schwann stared at her blankly. He was finding it oddly hard to think straight. The woman exhaled impatiently.

"Alright, see how the sky is purple? That's because there's a very high concentration of aer- the things that power Blastia and are used for Artes. But see, aer in high concentrations is bad for the human body. Fortunately, just living here won't do too much damage, your body adjusts. But that Bhodi Blastia of yours, you've been using spells with it right?"

Raven nodded lamely. He knew all of this already, but lacked the energy to tell her so.

"Well, you've come from places where the aer level is pretty low. Your Blastia is designed to be used in such places. Here though, it's taking in a lot more aer than usual whenever you use an arte. So you put the normal amount of aer into the arte, but there's leftover aer. That's accumulated in your body, and it's probably frying your organs right now."

She placed another apple gel into his hand.

"Eat it, and don't complain. It'll keep you alive."

He didn't argue, and stuffed the little gelly into his mouth, fighting past his revulsion. It was so damned sweet. He _hated_ sweets.

"Well then. Get plenty of rest, and for god's sake don't use your Bhodi Blastia. And don't even think about touching any Orange gels, those things are used when you're _low_ on aer. Once all the excess aer has left your body in a few months, buy a new Bhodi Blastia from one of the city's merchants. Or recarve the formula yourself if you know how to." She bent down to pick up a walking stick she had dropped when she had spotted him.

"Why'd you help me?" Schwann asked as his mind started to clear and focus.

"Well, the more favours I can call back the better don't you think? Besides, a dead body just outside our inn is going to repel paying customers." She answered with a wry grin.

"You work here?" He asked, looking up at the sign that named this inn as "Sagittarius".

"Uh-huh, yup. I'm Lynnette. Nice to meet you. Anyways, mind giving me your name?"

Schwann stood there blankly for a moment, struggling with the question for a moment before his mind finally processed it.

"I'm Raven."

She cocked an eyebrow curiously.

"Uh-huh, sure. Now that's over, can you please tell me your real name?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, wondering. Was it really that obvious?

"Pfft. Raven? What kind of idiots name their kid Raven m'right?" She grinned at his scowl.

"Well, whatever. I have to get back to work, I've wasted enough time on this. Hope to see you soon, _Raven_." She turned and headed towards the entrance of the inn, where a man had poked his head out of the door, yelling something Schwann didn't quite catch.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm coming!" Lynnette yelled back, and then reached the door, opened it, and disappeared inside.

Staring at the door a moment, he bent down to pick up his dropped bag and bowsword. He headed back to his own inn, barely aware of the journey. As he collapsed in bed, forgoing dinner, he realized he hadn't even thanked the woman who had saved him.

Vowing that he'll go back to look for her tomorrow to give her his thanks, he rolled over and tried to fall asleep.

* * *

AN: I'll actually pick up the action next chapter. I just realized there's one more character I forgot to introduce and an important piece of information to reveal, woops. I'll get them in somehow next chapter. You'd think with a detailed 5,000 word story outline I'd be doing better with keeping track of everything.


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